Dead Space 4
by CobaltTungsten
Summary: Years after the attack on Earth by the Necromoons, human survivors drift through space searching for a way to destroy the Necromorph threat that still looms, and eventually through intentional and subjective exposure to a Black Marker Fragment, they may have just found the way to save Humanity.


Dead Space 3

_1715 Days after Necromoons attacked Earth_

_Dr. Jacobs Science Log_ _#57_

Recording Starts-

Dr. Jacobs: "After over a year of analyzing, translating as much of the Marker signal as I can, and limited exposure to a Black Marker Fragment… I believe I've finally uncovered something, extraordinary."

**Shuddering breaths can be heard**

Dr. Jacobs: "As I documented in my earlier studies, people of normal to lesser intelligence fall prey to paranoia and hallucinations after exposure to the Marker signal, and those of greater intelligence become conduits… forced to make copies, like biological 3D printers. It's how they can spread the signal to the entire population of an entire species. The signal is their greatest asset against anything with an organic brain, and due to this… remains the Markers' greatest weakness."

**Papers shuffle**

Dr. Jacobs: "I was initially opposed to using volunteers, exposing anyone regardless of intent or intelligence is a highly dangerous situation. Though, I will admit my team explain the situation to a few survivors of Earth, and I was overwhelmed by the number of volunteers…"

**Heavy sighs**

Dr. Jacobs: "Humans, above all else it seems, are relentless in our desire for vengeance. Since then, we've lost 115 Volunteers, brave souls that they were. But… here we are today. Volunteer #116 – Steven Shale. 35 years old, Profession was Hyperbaric Welding, no genetic abnormalities, no family history of mental illness. Is this true, to the best of your knowledge?"

Steven: "Yes, sir."

Dr. Jacobs: "Might I say Steven, four days ago you were barely lucid enough to not be a drooling mess on the floor. What changed?"

**Heavy silence**

Dr. Jacobs: "It's okay if you don't feel like talking right now. I know you've been under tremendous stress since-"

Steven: "Stress… I guess that's one way of putting it. What do you know of Hyperbaric pressure Doc?"

Dr. Jacobs: "Not much more than textbook, I'd imagine."

Steven: "It does funny things. To plating, structure, pipes… people. Something goes wrong in that situation, you will more than likely end up dead if you panic. So yeah… stress kinda comes with the territory. You get smart, adapt, learn, or die. You don't have time to stress."

Dr. Jacobs: "That's understandable."

Steven: "After I was exposed to the Shard, I began to feel a… pressure. Like something pressing into my brain, I guess you could say."

Dr. Jacobs: "Like a pipe that sprung a leak at the bottom of the ocean?"

Steven: "Pretty much. At first it was just a nuisance, but eventually I started hearing things, then seeing things. Flashes of monsters, people I know to be dead… and the unending whispers to build a new Marker to replace the Shard."

Dr. Jacobs: "So, what you're saying is the Shard is aware that it's broken?"

Steven: "Sort of. I kept getting impressions that were more like… a computer. Like when a program crashes and it tells you it needs to be repaired or reinstalled. It didn't feel… aware… just like a programmed response."

Dr. Jacobs: "That's very interesting… I'll come back to that later if you don't mind. You were talking about your experiences after your exposure. What happened next?"

Steven: "I started seeing symbols, seeing schematics that were all jumbled. They didn't make sense at first, but I had an overwhelming need to replicate them. The more I was exposed to the Shard I started feeling more and more pressure, the need becoming an obsession, and eventually I had a hard time telling reality from hallucination. It's mostly a blur after that, just prior to… what happened."

Dr. Jacobs: "We utilized the same method used on one, Isaac Clarke. We would isolate the portion of your brain the signal propagated through, lock it off, keep you sedated, and routinely erase your memory. As for the 'What happened', I believe you're referring to what we've named as Transference."

Steven: "Whatever you want to call it Doc, I don't care. I just know what I saw, what I felt."

Dr. Jacobs: "Please, enlighten us for the record Mr. Shale?"

Steven: "I remember, suddenly coming to in the Memory Chamber. I was assaulted all at once by the voices, the visions, it felt angry. I felt it stronger than ever, pressing into my mind, and that's when I thought of it. Pressure. I calmed myself, focused on the feeling, and tried locking it off. Next thing I knew, I was standing in this void with a Red Marker."

Dr. Jacobs: "Fascinating. In an attempt to force you to do it's bidding, it actually pulled you into a mindscape?"

Steven: "Perhaps, I don't know. I was just focused on what I was seeing. I could feel the pressure just coming off this Marker, it was strong enough it almost blew me away. But, I'm a Hyperbaric Welder, the pressure isn't what scares me, it's not doing something about it."

Dr. Jacobs: "What is it you did?"

Steven: "I acted on my training. I found things in my environment that I could use… and I made a giant metal box to put it in. I reinforced it heavily, over and over and over again. I don't know how long I was at it, but by the time it was over, the pressure was gone. I remember… falling asleep after that."

Dr. Jacobs: "The neural patterns we monitored from you during this event, your brainwaves matched the signal made by the Shard. It was like it was like it was connecting to you, hence why we named it Transference. It may have felt like a long time in your mind, but rest assured, it only lasted twenty three seconds. I want the record to reflect, that after this event… the Shard is no longer producing a signal, and is much more than just inert. It began breaking down shortly after the Transference, and is now completely irreparable."

Steven: "Sorry about that Doc, didn't mean to break it."

Dr. Jacobs: "This is progress, until this moment other than heavy ordinance we didn't know there was a way to block or destroy the Markers. Plus, a person exposed to it doesn't just… recover. The Shard breaking down IS a breakthrough in itself, but you present a whole host of possible solutions. Tell me though, before we started recording you were telling me about what woke you up."

Steven: "Yeah… that's the weird thing. I remember waking up in that void, right by the metal box. I could hear scraping and tapping."

Dr. Jacobs: "You mean like… something was trying to get out?"

Steven: "That's what I thought to, at first, but after a few minutes of listening I realized it just kept repeating itself. So… carefully I memorized it. Then it was like a pressure release, it all came back all at once. I just woke up on the cot."

Dr. Jacobs: "You memorized the pattern?"

Steven: "Yes, sir."

**Pen clicks**

Dr. Jacobs: "Please, tell me the pattern."

Steven: "Scrape, tap, scrape, tap… tap, scrape, tap tap… tap, scrape… tap, scrape, tap… scrape, tap, scrape… tap."

**Scribbles, silence**

Dr. Jacobs: "Mr. Shale… are you 100% positive this is what you heard?"

Steven: "Absolutely, no doubt about it. Why?"

**Glasses clinking as the are rested on the table, Dr. Jacobs chuckles lightly**

Dr. Jacobs: "Mr. Shale, you may have just given us hope. It was Morse code."

Steven: "I may not be familiar with Morse Doc, but that doesn't strike me as a very long message."

Dr. Jacobs: "Didn't have to be. It was one word."

Steven: "What one word could be good enough to put hope in?"

Dr. Jacobs: "Clarke."


End file.
